Saddle for bicycles



Mar ch 29, 1966 r. l. DUFFY I 3,243,231

SADDLE FOR BICYCLES Filed Sept. 1, 1964 INVENTOR THOMAS I. DUFFY 44m W/ ATT RNEV United States Patent 3,243,231 SADDLE FOR BICYCLES Thomas I. Duffy, Grand Haven, Mich, assignor of one-half to Ethel Benedict Filed Sept. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 393,693 4 Claims. (Cl. 297195) This invention relates to saddles for bicycles, and particularly to improve means for mounting such saddles in elevated positions above the frame of a bicycle.

An object of the invention is to form a saddle with one or more recesses in the rearward end portion thereof, and to insert one or more resilient elements in such recesses to form a cushioned seat.

Another object is to form said resilient elements with an interior cored hole to afford distortion or displacement of the resilient material under the weight of a rider.

Still another object is to provide a support beneath said saddle, and to form said saddle at its front end portion with a dependent protuberance having a rear surface; to form an aperture opening in said surface and to form the forward end portion of the support as a finger supportively received in said aperture, and to provide means to secure the rear end portion of said support to the rear end portion of the saddle, whereby such last mentioned means resists withdrawal of said forward end portion from said aperture.

These and various other objects are attained by the construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, looking down upon the saddle.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the saddle, sup port and post.

FIG. 3 is a vertical, sectional view on line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a vertical, sectional View on line 44 of FIG. 1, illustrating the apertured, dependent protuberance at the front end of the saddle.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view showing in isolation the tubular post and insert.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view on line 6--6 of FIG. 5.

In these views, the reference character '1 designates the saddle, rearwardly formed with laterally spaced recesses 2. A web 3 integrally joins the annular walls of said recesses as seen in FIG. 3. The left portion of FIG. 3, if shown in elevation would be oppositely portrayed, but otherwise identical to the right side. Extending forwardly from said recesses, as at 4 (FIGS. 1 and 2), the saddle is formed with downwardly extended side Walls 5, and forwardly terminates in a dependent protuberance 6, apertured as at 7 in a rear face thereof.

A support is disposed beneath the saddle, and includes a strap 8 elongated laterally of the saddle. A pair of side members 9 are elongated longitudinally of the saddle, and each is formed with a flange 10 at its rearward end, which is welded or otherwise secured to the lateral strap 8. The end portions of the strap 8 are return bent as at 11, to be secured to the saddle by nuts and bolts 13, said bolts passing through the saddle material. Washers 12 may be employed if desired.

The two straps 9 forwardly converge and have their forward end portions arcuately curved and abutted as at 14 to form a finger (FIG. 4) received in the aforesaid aperture 7. Central portions of the paired straps are formed as similar parallel flats 9.

A tubular post 16, upwardly, terminally carries a head 17. To partially form such head, the upper end portion of the post is formed with semi-annular flat, parallel walls 3,243,231 Patented Mar. 29, 1966 lCC 18. The hollow head receives an insert 19, which reinforces the upper end portion of the post. The upper pornon of said insert forms a portion of the head 17, and flush with the outer faces of said walls. Said insert is formed with a shank 20 which serves to radially orient the insert with respect to said head.

Formed in said side faces are serrations 21, and in the surfaces of said insert 19, coplanor with the outer faces of said walls, are formed complementary serrations 22. A hole 23 is formed in the insert 19 and parallel walls 18, and the serrations 21, 22, may be extended radially of such hole. The head 17 is received between the flats 15 formed centrally of the side members 9, and the hole 23 registers with holes 24, formed in said flats 15. The holes, thus registered, receive a nut and bolt to engage said support and the head 17 in assembly. The aforesaid serrations are proposed to be conventional in form, and mating serrations (not shown) are formed on the opposed faces of the flats 15 for interengagement with those on the head 17. Such inter-engagement resists undesired rotative movement of the support about the longitudinal axis of said bolt 25.

Cushions 26 formed of yieldably resilient material such as rubber are inserted in the recesses 2. Such cushions are interiorly formed with annular holes 27 to allow distortion of said cushions under the weight of a rider. The annular hole 27 in each said cushion opens in the bottom face thereof and such opening is formed with an inwardly annular lip 28. A disc-like plate 29 is formed with an annular flange 30 at its periphery. The aforesaid bolt 13 is inserted through a central aperture in the plate 29, and the resilient material of said lip 28 is distended to afford insertion of said flange 30 to hold the cushion 26 in position. The bolt is then dropped through the apertured bottom wall of an annular recess 2 and engaged in the end portion 11 of the lateral support 8, as hereinbefore explained, and as clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

It is an advantage of the proposed construction that the saddle 1 can be molded in one piece. This eliminates the need of a nut and bolt, or the like, by use of said aperture 7 and the mating end portions 8 of the side members 9.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a bicycle having a frame,

(a) a saddle having a rear end and a front end,

(b) a support elongated beneath the saddle from the rear end portion to the front end portion thereof,

(c) a post, upwardly projecting from said frame and adapted to engage the support,

(d) means to maintain the post and the support in engagement,

(e) the front end portion of the saddle being formed with an aperture,

(f) a forward end portion of said support forming a finger received in said aperture to support said front end portion of the saddle,

(g) said support being secured to and beneath the rearward end portion of the saddle, to support said saddle and to resist withdrawal of said finger from said aperture,

(h) one or more upwardly opening recesses formed in said saddle,

(i) one or more yieldably resistant elements received in said one or more recesses,

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1,

(j) a downwardly dependent protuberance formed on the forward end portion of said saddle, and having a rearwardly facing surface, said aperture opening in said surface, said forward end portion of the supa r) port being forwardly directed for insertion in said aperture.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2, said support including a pair of approximately parallel, adjacent straps, elongated from rear to front of said saddle, the forward end portions of said straps being arcnately formed and abutted in a longitudinally extending axis to constitute said finger as a tubular projection.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 2, said support including a pair of approximately parallel, adjacent straps, and a rear strap extending transversely to and secured to the rear end portions of said pair, said rear strap having its end portions arcuately bent to form loops, said recesses each having a bottom wall, and

(k) fastening means extending through the bottom wall 15 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

J. T. MCCALL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A BICYCLE HAVING A FRAME, (A) A SADDLE HAVING A REAR END AND A FRONT END, (B) A SUPPORT ELONGATED BENEATH THE SADDLE FROM THE REAR END PORTION TO THE FRONT END PORTION THEREOF, (C) A POST, UPWARDLY PROJECTING FROM SAID FRAME AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE SUPPORT, (D) MEANS TO MAINTAIN THE POST AND THE SUPPORT IN ENGAGEMENT, (E) THE FRONT END PORTION OF THE SADDLE BEING FORMED WITH AN APERTURE, (F) A FORWARD END PORTION OF SAID SUPPORT FORMING A FINGER RECEIVED IN SAID APERTURE TO SUPPORT SAID FRONT END PORTION OF THE SADDLE, (G) SAID SUPPORT BEING SECURED TO AND BENEATH THE REARWARD END PORTION OF THE SADDLE, TO SUPPORT SAID SADDLE AND TO RESIST WITHDRAWAL OF SAID FINGER FROM SAID APERTURE, (H) ONE OR MORE UPWARDLY OPENING RECESSES FORMED IN SAID SADDLE, (I) ONE OR MORE YIELDABLY RESISTANT ELEMENTS RECEIVED IN SAID CORE OR MORE RECESSES. 